A Monday afternoon drive
by princedarienofthewhitemoon
Summary: 'nother Haruka/Michiru Romance/angst fic...(#8)


'Ello, readers. This is the newest chapter of my short story series (really do need to come up with a name for this series… oh well… only one of my other two chaptered series dark moon rising is named, and it seems to be the least popular of anything I've written… even more so than trials of sisterhood)  
  
  
  
An afternoon drive  
  
1 By Michael Treiber  
  
Haruka grit her teeth as she paced back and forth in front of her car. What was wrong with Michiru? All day long she had seemed to almost… be avoiding Haruka. She'd promised that they'd talk after school, but…  
  
"Hello Haruka."  
  
The tall blonde nearly jumped out of her skin when her friend spoke behind her suddenly.  
  
"Michiru, is something wrong? Are you mad at me?"  
  
A confused looked crossed Michiru's face.  
  
"Of course not! Why would you ask?"  
  
"You've been avoiding me all day. And after church Sunday…"  
  
Michiru cut her off.  
  
"Oh… that. Um… We do have something we need to discuss…"  
  
Inspiration came to Haruka.  
  
"How would you like to go for a drive?"  
  
They drove in silence for the better part of an hour.  
  
"Now… tell me what's wrong."  
  
Michiru sighed deeply.  
  
"Oh Haruka… why did you have to drive here of all places?"  
  
Suddenly, Haruka noticed where they were. When the two had first met, and Haruka had taken up her duties as a Senshi, Michiru had told her that she wanted to go for a drive along the seashore. It was here that Haruka had taken her new partner. The two had stayed all through the nigh, talking, getting to know one another. It was one of Haruka's most treasured memories.  
  
Grinning at her friend, Haruka just shrugged.  
  
"Don't really know… but I suppose that I think of this as a 'comfort spot'. We told each other our life stories here… after that, we should be able to say anything here."  
  
"Haruka… you don't get it, do you?"  
  
"Get… what?"  
  
Michiru looked like she was ready to scream.  
  
"Ok… it's like this. You know that I… prefer the company of girls?"  
  
Not a complete idiot, Haruka nodded.  
  
"Well, a LOT of people seem to know that. It doesn't usually bother me. I feel kind of guilty about this, but my parents kind of shield me from the abuse that young women with my… tastes… often suffer. But at yesterday…"  
  
"Did someone say something that upset you!?"  
  
Michiru smiled at the sudden anger in her friend's voice.  
  
"No Haruka… they didn't upset me. I know what people think of my preferences. What was upsetting me was a though of… 'What if Haruka heard the things they're saying'?"  
  
Nodding, Haruka said,  
  
"You might have been right… I don't like when people bad mouth my friends… especially you."  
  
"Haruka… they were talking about you too."  
  
A couple of confused blinks from Haruka and Michiru continued.  
  
"They were saying that your mother must be an idiot, because…"  
  
"Because?"  
  
"Because I had obviously seduced you, and she wasn't seeing anything."  
  
"Oh…" Haruka though she understood now. "Well if that's it, I can straighten them out."  
  
Michiru softly chewed her lower lip and looked down, unable to meet Haruka's eyes. After a moment of silence, she gave voice to what had been weighing on her heart for weeks now.  
  
"Haruka… you really are and idiot. You can't see can you?"  
  
"See what?"  
  
A deep sigh. "Haruka. Think about it. Look at the boys I always date. Soft, with weak personalities. Those relationships usually last about a week, tops. Then look at the girls I've dated. Strong, masculine, with powerful personalities, yet still female enough not to wash out their partners personality."  
  
"Um…"  
  
"Still don't get it? I was raised in a pretty traditional home. I've always wanted a partner that would be strong enough to protect me, and take care of me. But I also grew up seeing what that does to many women. Their husbands strong, dominating persona's completely wash out their personalities, and they become walking, talking dolls. Trophy wives. I'm terrified of that."  
  
"What does this have to do with…" Michiru silenced Haruka with a glance before continuing.  
  
"So I started dating weak, pale young men. I figured if I was the dominant part of the pair, I could still be myself. But then the old 'hold me, protect me, take care of me' emotions start to kick in… and none of them could do it. Then I met Elza Grey. She was strong, with more individuality than you could shake a stick at. But she still had this inherent, feminine passiveness to her. And then I knew… this was exactly what I wanted… what I needed. Someone strong, but who wouldn't try to hurt me, wouldn't try to change me to be a 'good wife'. I fell in love."  
  
"Oh…" Haruka said, still not quite understanding.  
  
"What was the first thing you thought when you stared to realize that someone at your church had upset me? Or whenever the girls at school try to ostracize me?"  
  
"Well… I get mad. I don't want anyone to hurt you."  
  
Michiru nodded.  
  
"And if you could change one thing about me, what would you change?"  
  
"I don't understand…" Haruka was really confused now.  
  
"Just… please, just answer the question."  
  
"All right… but I don't really know what to say. You seem fine just the way you are… you worry a little to much, but that's just part of who you are."  
  
Michiru smiled brightly before kissing Haruka on the cheek.  
  
"And that…" She said, as she cuddled her head against Haruka's should and closed her eyes. "Is exactly what I wanted to hear."  
  
  
  
So… what did you all think? Things are starting to get interesting, no? Well, hope you all enjoy… and sorry for taking so long to get this out. 


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